Motivation: it’s something every one needs. Whether it’s a financial drive or a spiritual one, everyone needs something that keeps them focused and real estate investors are no different.

Setting investment goals is something that every investor does. But sometimes as investors, we find ourselves setting unrealistic investment goals or goals that may reap immediate rewards but lack long-term gain. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming trying to set manageable, realistic investment goals that can actually be leveraged into cashflow.

Investor, author and real estate investing mentor, Rod Khleif, believes in the power of actionable investment goals. By setting goals for himself that not only inspired him to become a successful real estate investor, they also empowered him to forge his path.

Rod was introduced to real estate investing early on. He managed to find success fairly quickly and, by 2006, had acquired thousands of properties across the U.S., including 800 in Florida.

Following the market crash however, Rod lost everything. Instead of accepting defeat, Rod took that as a learning opportunity. He realized that, while his investment goals had been earning him income, they did not lay the foundation for a successful, long-term cashflow strategy. Rod re-tooled his approach and, by aligning his investment strategy with philanthropic efforts, was able to form actionable, empowering investment goals.

Tax Credits

They sound nice, but real estate investors may think that they are not so easy to come by. Those investors who do happen upon them find usually find themselves bogged down by the IRS’ strict stipulations surrounding them.

Tax credits are, in fact, tools set in place to help investors grow their portfolios and while they may seem complex, they are accessible to any investor willing to do a little extra leg work.

While nobody should be expected to know the entire IRS tax code, real estate investors should be aware of some very helpful tax credits that can be applied to their assets.

For real estate investors, it’s all about the bottom line. Investors are always looking at how they can save on costs and expand their cash-flow. While many real estate investors might be aware of certain tax-breaks that can be taken advantage of for investment properties, deferring taxes through cost segregation may be one that investors overlook. Institutional investors are probably aware of this tax advantage, but smaller, individual investors or those just starting out in real estate investing may be unaware.

For Michele Pasquale, the bottom line is helping investors to get more out of their properties. Michele is owner and managing member of Meridian Financial Solutions. By working directly with investor clients and through alignment with CPA firms, Meridian seeks to establish effective, long-term tax-planning strategies resulting in greater ROI potential for investors. Michele brings over 16 years of experience in real estate acquisitions and finance to help investors maximize cash-flow. This episode, Michele shares some things investors should know about deferring taxes through cost segregation.

Commercial real estate investors and developers know the term: “Green”. In Florida, it seems that “green” is the phantom criteria for real estate: many have heard of it, few have seen it. The term brings to mind vague notions of sustainability and energy efficiency, but what exactly is it? What is the merit in “going green”? As an effort to shift toward sustainability becomes a rising trend in the nation, Florida continues to lag behind as commercial developers and investors grapple with the nebulous nature of sustainability and green construction.

Sandra Adomatis, SRA, and LEED green associate is an appraiser with a focus on green initiatives and sustainability in real estate. Based out of Punta Gorda, Florida, Sandra has over 25 years of experience in real estate appraisal in the state of Florida. Sandra is a green valuation expert for the Appraisal Institute. Through course development, seminars and literature, Sandra has been helping commercial real estate investors integrate sustainability and energy efficiency into their investments.

A sense of home can be a hard thing to find in an apartment. Real estate investors holding apartment complexes or other multifamily dwellings may find marketing their properties as desirable living spaces to prove difficult in media over-saturated with ineffective advertising and marketing strategies. The rise of social media has changed the face of marketing, with web-based marketing now offering a variety of platforms to deliver your property to potential residents. Some apartment complex investors and property managers are embracing these new platforms and initiating innovative and effective marketing campaigns directed at tenants looking for something more than just another apartment.

Melissa Meredith and Ana Maria Palermo have both grasped this shift and are using social media and other creative methods of marketing to produce appealing, effective marketing solutions for their clients. Melissa Meredith, of Marketing with Mel, works and lives in Tampa’s Channelside District. Melissa applies her innovative “360 approach” to create niche marketing strategies to grow her clients’ business. Ana Maria Palermo, property manager of Channelside’s SkyHouse luxury apartment complex, has built a strong community foundation for the residents by using social media and other creative methods to market to new tenants. This episode, find out how using social media and other creative methods of marketing your apartment complex or other investment property can improve your sales or lease rates.

Successful real estate investing requires knowing the terrain. Investors need to play the field and work hard to find the right deals. Florida real estate markets are garnering a lot of interest from investors and asset classes across the board are becoming more competitive. An investor starting out in single family can become full-time institutional real estate investor with strategic planning and a strong capital base.

Greg Williams, Co-founder and Principle at Cardinal Point Management of Tampa is a true testament to this fact. Greg was introduced to real estate investing out of college. After 4 years of experience building in a variety of asset classes as part of investment firms, Greg set his sights on becoming an institutional real estate investor in the Florida real estate market, focusing on. Though he started small, Greg aspired for larger more diverse deals. Bringing a competitive spirit and strategic approach, Greg maneuvered Florida’s real state industry and has become a success story as a leading institutional real estate investor.

Things are happening in the Miami real estate market… Well things are always happening in the Miami real estate market, but BIG things are happening right now. Miami has long been the focal point for real estate investors due to the density and scale of development and the investment opportunity for a variety of asset classes. Real estate investors all over Florida have looked towards the Miami real estate market as a forecast for current and future conditions throughout the state.

Tom Blazejack, of Blazejack & Company knows all of the ins and outs of the Miami real estate market. In addition to nearly 40 years’ experience as a real estate appraiser and analyst, Tom is also a native of Miami. Tom’s extensive appraisal knowledge of commercial and residential properties and intimate knowledge of the Miami real estate market make his consultation highly sought after by investors. This episode, Tom gives us an overview of the Miami real estate market, including development highlights and what investors should expect.

Miami Real Estate Market

2011 purchase of Miami Herald building for $236 million marks return of market

Foreign investment and cash-heavy market

Foreign investors seeking stable properties to invest cash

Development spikes

New deposit requirements for investors and developers insures accountability

Lenders alleviating construction loan costs for developers

Projects moving quicker

Land price increases

Miami seeing $200-300/sqf on new commercial developments but even as high as $3000 in some prime locations

Real estate development in Florida is currently in great demand. With real estate investors turning towards ground-up real estate development as an increasingly more viable means of investing, new projects are springing up state-wide. However, with increased pressure on real estate development and a construction workforce stretched thin, it is important to keep in mind key points if looking into real estate development as an investment goal.

Jonathan Moore, AIA is president and founder of InVision Advisors. His firm offers owner’s representation and project consulting services for owners and investors, architects and contractors during real estate development. As owner’s representatives, InVision Advisors takes a comprehensive approach to real estate development deals handling day-to-day and overall project oversight. As an experienced architect, Jonathan brings a unique insight to his knowledge of the real estate development industry. This episode, Jonathan discusses hot points for investors to know about real estate development.

7 Real Estate Development Hot Points

Sub-contractors

Markets state-wide are saturated with work

Sub-contractors control velocity of development

Artificial inflation caused by over estimation of construction costs

Communication

Problems frequently arise due to lack of communication

Loss of face-to-face time and on-site meetings contribute to communication breakdown

In a recent episode, we spoke with an investor who managed a Florida real estate portfolio from outside the country. This week’s episode features an investor who runs a foreign investment firm out of his home-base in Davenport, Florida.

Garrett Kenny started building his investment portfolio in Florida after being introduced to Orlando’s vacation markets in 1996. Since then, he has built his investment firm, Feltrim, into an international name for foreign investment in Florida real estate, handling all aspects of the investment process. This episode, Garrett discusses foreign investment in Florida and hot real estate sub-markets in Orlando.

Foreign Investing in Florida

Most foreign investors can expect to average 6% annual ROI

Easy to find financing options, but many do cash deals

Usually require more up-front from investor for financing

4-4.5% interest rates

Some foreign investors use local banks and mortgage brokers

Some financing may be available through institutions in home countries

For the average Florida real estate investor, Wall Street banking and investing practices may seem worlds away. However, one investor and developer in the state has managed to successfully fuse his expertise in Wall Street investing with the Florida real estate market.

Santosh Govindaraju is a Florida developer with an interesting history. Prior to finding success in Florida real estate markets, Santosh was immersed in the world of high-strategy investment banking on Wall Street. After moving to Florida, Santosh applied his investment banking expertise to Florida real estate with a focus on the Tampa market. Santosh and his firm, Convergent Capital Partners, have been providing equity and debt investment options in a variety of Florida commercial real estate for over 17 years. This episode, he discusses his transition to real estate investing and what’s next for the Tampa market.

Wall Street Lessons

“Reversion to the Mean” – markets and prices fluctuate, but they will always indicate a trend, or mean